Happy Book Birthday to SALLY SLICK & THE STEEL SYNDICATE by Carrie Harris

I had the fantastic luck to read an early version of this rip-roaring steampunk romp and I enjoyed every minute. Carrie has a one-of-a-kind imagination and when she unleashes it on the page, you are in for a treat.  Zombies or no zombies (that's a little inside joke for you Carrie fans out there!).

Go say "hi" to Carrie at her website or, better still, BUY HER NEW BOOK -- or all of her books! Click, click! AMAZON  INDIEBOUND

Bookanistas: ALL MEN OF GENIUS by Lev AC Rosen

Plot without spoilers...Since the author acknowledges two plays (Oscar Wilde's THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT) as his inspirations, it's not spoiling anything to reveal that Violet Adams disguises herself as a young man so that she can gain admission to the illustrious London science academy, Illyria. Once there, Violet's attraction for the headmaster, and son of the school's founder, Ernest; her growing friendship with Ernest's ward, Cecily; and her involvement in intrigues of romantic, scientific and even criminal natures, drive this complex and delightful novel forward.

Of literary interest...One might think that the rigors of tying a plot to two iconic stage plays would constrain an author's use of imagery.  However, chapter after chapter, Rosen delivers unique, pithy and elegant turns of phrase. I found myself rereading passages with delight. Here is one favorite but honestly, I could open to almost any page:

Violet was stunned by the Crystal Palace. She has seen it in pictures, of course, but to have it looming over her, like a sky of diamond, and to be in it as it was filled with people, fountains, trees, flowers, exhibits, and a faint, indescribable perfume like rosewater, incense and ice. And to have her invention here among it all!  It was enough to make the mechanics of her body stop, and to pause the machinery of her soul.

Finally, just gotta say...ALL MEN OF GENIUS is a steampunk novel, set in an alternate London. I am not generally a steampunk reader but this book won me over with its fearless treatment of themes such as sexism, socio-economic discrimination, and the perils of using science to "make a better human."

Want more Bookanista book love this week? CLICK CLICK CLICK!

Bookanistas: THE RITHMATIST by Brandon Sanderson

I recently had the pleasure of reading an arc of adult author Brandon Sanderson's (WARBREAKER; author chosen to complete Robert Jordan's WHEEL OF TIME series) new YA novel THE RITHMATIST. It wasn't something I'd necessarily choose, being partial to contemporary novels. However, I truly enjoyed it.

THE RITHMATIST is set in a sort of steam-punk, alternate America with a different geography, the constant danger from "the front at Nebrask" and two types of citizens: ordinary folk and Rithmatists, who are selected through a mysterious inception process, and trained in the art of Rithmatics before being sent to Nebrask to keep the rest of the world safe. The way Rithmatists fight is by drawing complex lines, shapes and figures (Chalklings). Due to their Rithmatic power, they can animate these two-dimension chalk lines into actual battles.

Enter into this scenario Joel, non-Rithmatist son of a deceased, lowly chalkmaker. Living with his mother on the campus of a famed private school for Rithmatists and elite ordinary students, Amedius Academy, Joel doesn't fit in anywhere--until his fascination with the mysterious Rithmatic world, and his friendships with a doddering professor and a misfit Rithmatics trainee, lead him into the thick of a mystery involving the disappearance (kidnapping) of several of his classmates. I found myself turning the pages quickly as the mystery element grew increasingly exciting.

Intrigued as I am by experimentation with literary forms--from Brian Selznick's graphic delight, THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, to Caroline Starr Rose's poingnant verses in MAY B, I was curious about the seemingly hand-drawn pages detailing Rithmatic lines, shapes, and defences which preceded each chapter. While at first I gave them only cursory glances, by the novel's end, I was swept up into the richly detailed and well-thought-out strategy of Rithmatics, becoming, in a sense, a student of the art myself. And, by the time the climactic battle and iconic "student melee" were fought at the end of the novel, I realized that it was through my increasing interest in the drawings that I was entirely swept up in the dueling.

The Rithmatist is about being an outsider, about judging others before getting all the facts, about the relationship between church and academia, about friendship between those who consider themselves misfits, and about the way students perceive that grown-up world they are about to enter.

I often comment that I'm not really a fantasy, sci-fi, or steampunk reader. But novels like THE RITHMATIST make me wonder if I should stop writing these glittering generalities. Because I am a fan of exciting, ambitious writing and a good story well told. Regardless of genre, THE RITHMATIST is surely that.

Here's what the other Bookanistas have been reading this week...

Tracy Banghart  is tantalized by TOUCHED by Corrine Jackson

Katy Upperman  adores IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin
Corrine Jackson is wowed by WAIT FOR YOU